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Historical Fiction June 2018
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| Woman of the Ashes by Mia Couto; translated by David BrookshawWhat it’s about: In war-torn colonial Mozambique at the end of the 19th century, Sgt. Germano de Melo is tasked with putting down an uprising led by Ngungunyane, a native leader. Germano hires a 15-year-old girl, whose family sides with the Portuguese, as his translator.
Series alert: Woman of the Ashes is the 1st in a planned trilogy.
Is it for you? If you enjoy books that have a touch of magical realism, allegory, and folklore, you'll savor this meticulously researched and powerful novel. |
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| The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna GoodmanWhat it’s about: Fifteen-year-old Maggie is pregnant by her French farm boy neighbor in 1950s Québec -- and her disappointed parents force her to give up the baby, Elodie. Maggie’s story alternates with that of her daughter, who grows up under harrowing circumstances in an orphanage that is converted into a psychiatric hospital.
Why you might like it: Readers who enjoyed Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train or the film Philomena will like the intertwining narratives of this bittersweet, poignant tale, which is based on true events. |
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King Zeno
by Nathaniel Rich
A traumatized police officer, a conflicted Mafia matriarch, and a talented trumpeter cross paths in 1918 New Orleans against a backdrop of the Spanish flu, the birth of jazz, and the brutal activities of an ax murderer.
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| The Soul of a Thief by Steven HartovWhat it's about: As World War II draws to a close, Shtefan Brandt is a German of Jewish descent hiding in plain sight as clerk to Colonel Eric Himmel. Himmel has the foresight to realize that the Germans are about to lose -- but has plans for how to come out ahead.
Who it’s for: Fans of World War II-era fiction and readers who like vivid characters and plot twists.
Reviewers say: “Simply a wondrous and utterly captivating novel” (Booklist). |
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| The Abbot's Tale by Conn IgguldenFeaturing: Tenth-century English abbot Dunstan of Glastonbury, the confidant and advisor to King Aethelstan, who, as the grandson of Alfred the Great, dreams of creating a united kingdom.
Why you might like it: Readers who enjoy gripping, grand historical sagas rich with battles and intrigue will savor this page-turning masterpiece.
You might also like: Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Series; the 1st is The Last Kingdom. |
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Tomorrow : a novel
by Damian Dibben
A wise, old dog travels through the courts and battlefields of Europe and through the centuries in search of the master who granted him immortality. 25,000 first printing.
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The Gate Keeper
by Charles Todd
An encounter with a frightened woman standing over a body launches an inquiry that leads Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge into a dangerous confrontation with a stealthy killer and his own painful memories. By the New York Times best-selling author of the Bess Crawford mysteries.
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Madness is better than defeat
by Ned Beauman
"A wild, astonishing novel (by arguably England's most accomplished young writer) about Manhattan and Hollywood in the 1930s, Mayan gods, and a CIA operation gone terribly wrong--and the Booker short-listed Ned Beauman's magnum opus thus far. In 1938, two rival expeditions descend on an ancient temple recently discovered in the jungles of Honduras, one intending to shoot a screwball comedy on location there, the other to disassemble the temple and ship it back to New York. A seemingly endless stalemate ensues, and twenty years later a rogue CIA agent sets out to exploit it for his own ends, unaware that the temple is a locus of conspiracies grander than anyone could ever have guessed. Shot through with insanity, conspiracy, ingenuity, and adventure, showcasing Beauman's anarchic humor, spectacular imagination, and riveting prose, Madness Is Better Than Defeat teases, absorbs, entertains, and dazzles in equal measure"
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| Dragon Teeth by Michael CrichtonWhat it’s about: The real-life 19th-century rivalry known as the Bone Wars between paleontologists Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope -- who resorted to a variety of underhanded methods to outdo one another in pursuit of fossils in the American West -- is retold through the eyes of fictional Yale student William Johnson.
Why you might like it: Though this book was published after bestselling author Michael Crichton’s death, it has his signature elements: action, science, and history all combined in page-turning fashion. |
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| Crossing the Horizon by Laurie NotaroWhat it’s about: In 1927, three women vie to be the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic: the Honorable Elsie Mackay, a disobedient earl’s daughter; Mabel Boll, a wealthy American widow who craves fame; and Ruth Elder, a former beauty pageant winner from Alabama.
Try this next: Victoria Patterson's The Peerless Four, about a Canadian track and field team overcoming significant hurdles in pursuit of Olympic gold. It too is a character-driven tale of daring women breaking barriers in the 1920s. |
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| Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral by Mary Doria RussellWhat it’s about: In this sequel to Doc, the consumptive Doc Holliday accompanies Wyatt Earp and his brothers to 1881 Tombstone, Arizona, to face off in a legendary gunfight against the Clantons and the McLaurys.
Why you might like it: Author Mary Doria Russell employs meticulous research, sumptuous period detail, and sensitive, in-depth character studies.
Try this next: Lyndsay Faye's Gods of Gotham, a historical mystery set in 1845 New York and the 1st in a trilogy, which also features rich characterizations and vivid storytelling. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 9601 Capital Lane Largo, Maryland 20774 301-699-3500www.pgcmls.info/ |
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